austrian ascendancy
‘To what extent was there Austrian ascendancy after 1848’
Before 1848, Austria had almost complete control over the German states and could dictate what happened within the country, this was due to their superior military power. Austria didn’t involve themselves in German affairs unless they tried to unify or tried to change the government, basically as long as they didn’t upset the status quo they would be left alone. In 1848 most of Europe was plunged into revolution including Austria, with Austria busy in Hungary there was room for Prussia to gain influence.
When Friedrich Wilhelm IV closed down the Prussian assembly in December he also rejected the idea of a constitution being forced upon him by his subjects, however on the very same day, however, he granted a constitution of his own free. This showed that Prussia would not be told what to do but was willing to listen to the people and introduce new policies or constitutions on Prussia’s terms as a compromise. This could show us that Prussia was willing to take on a larger role in Germany than they had before the 1848 revolutions, this could hint towards future signs of conflict between Austria and Prussia as they fight over influence.
Although Friedrich Wilhelm IV had rejected the offer of the crown of a united Germany he still hoped to unite Germany under Prussian leadership, this also shows us signs of future conflicts between Prussia and Austria. Friedrich Wilhelm attempted to join up with several other German states and draw up a constitution at what was named the ‘Erfurt Union’, however the foundations of the alliances were brittle from the start and after Austria got back up after settling the events in Hungary they were ready to re-assert their power in Germany; they attempted to intervene in the union and this caused many of the smaller states to break off and ultimately the entire union failed. This attempted union shows that Prussia was attempting to join Germany under Prussia’s control,
Before 1848, Austria had almost complete control over the German states and could dictate what happened within the country, this was due to their superior military power. Austria didn’t involve themselves in German affairs unless they tried to unify or tried to change the government, basically as long as they didn’t upset the status quo they would be left alone. In 1848 most of Europe was plunged into revolution including Austria, with Austria busy in Hungary there was room for Prussia to gain influence.
When Friedrich Wilhelm IV closed down the Prussian assembly in December he also rejected the idea of a constitution being forced upon him by his subjects, however on the very same day, however, he granted a constitution of his own free. This showed that Prussia would not be told what to do but was willing to listen to the people and introduce new policies or constitutions on Prussia’s terms as a compromise. This could show us that Prussia was willing to take on a larger role in Germany than they had before the 1848 revolutions, this could hint towards future signs of conflict between Austria and Prussia as they fight over influence.
Although Friedrich Wilhelm IV had rejected the offer of the crown of a united Germany he still hoped to unite Germany under Prussian leadership, this also shows us signs of future conflicts between Prussia and Austria. Friedrich Wilhelm attempted to join up with several other German states and draw up a constitution at what was named the ‘Erfurt Union’, however the foundations of the alliances were brittle from the start and after Austria got back up after settling the events in Hungary they were ready to re-assert their power in Germany; they attempted to intervene in the union and this caused many of the smaller states to break off and ultimately the entire union failed. This attempted union shows that Prussia was attempting to join Germany under Prussia’s control,